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(No Model.)

0. A. HUSSEY. Electric Lamp.

No. 242,930. Patented June 14, I881.

Z M51150) I M1117 W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. HUSSEY, OF NElV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE AND DIRECT ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE HUSSEY ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF

SAME PLACE.

ELECTRIC LAMP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 242,930, dated June 14, 1881,

Application filed November 20, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES A. HUssEY, of NewYork, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Lamps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in the combination, in an electric lamp, of a body capable of being rotated or turned, and containing within it two or more independent carbons, and means whereby, when said body is rotated or turned, the ends of the carbons or carbon-holders are shifted to bring the carbons successively into the electric circuit, so that one will replace another when it is of no further use.

The invention also consists in the combination, with an electric lamp, of a stationary contact-piece and a number of resistance devices arranged upon a common support, which may be rotated to bring said resistance devices into the circuit of the lamp, to vary or extinguish the light.

The invention also consists in the combination, with an electric lamp, of a rotary spool furnished with coils of fine wire, and means,

connected with the circuit of the lamp, whereby, on the rotation of said spool by a handpiece, moreor less of its coils may be thrown into the lamp'cireuit and the resistancein the circuit varied.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of an electric lamp and regulator embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the lamp bulb or body. Fig. 3 is an end view of a commutator or circuit-chan gin g device comprised in the lamp. Fig. 4 is a sectional end view of the electric-lamp regulator with one of the covers removed. Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the said regulator. Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrative of the variable resistance comprised in the regulator; and Fig. 7 is an end view of the lamp, illustrative of means for automatically changing the circuits through the carbons.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

A designates the body of the lamp, consisting of a translucent hollow bulb or oblong spheroid of glass, with prolonged ends A.

Extending through these ends, at short distances apart, are holders B B for the carbons C, supported within the body A of the lamp, and employed to produce light when heated by an electric current to a state of incandescence. These holders may be provided with any suitable means whereby to fasten the carbons to them, and the carbons may consist of carbonized strips of paper, bamboo, or other suitable material. These carbons, preferably, are bent into the form of a bow or curve, as shown in Fig. 1, and but one is designed to be in circuit and produce light at a time, and the one in circuit occupies, preferably, the uppermost position. The body A of the lamp is partially rotated or turned around to bring the carbons, one after another, as may be neces sary, into the uppermost position.

The carbon-holders are made of metal. The carbon-holders B are connected to a ring or band of metal, D, which forms one journal of the body A of the lamp, and the carbon-holders B are respectively connected to metallic strips or plates E, insulated from one another, but forming part of a commutator or circuitchanging wheel, E E, which forms the other journal of the body of the lamp. The plates E may be regarded as forming the ends of the carbon-holders. The ring or journal D may be supported directly in a metal hearing at the end of the arm F, and one end of the lampcircuit wire may be brought into direct contact with it; but the commutator or circuitchanging wheel E E is supported in a bearing at the end of the arm F and lined with a sleeve of hard rubber or other insulating material, the other end of the circuit-wire being connected to a brush or metallic plate, G, which bears on the top of the commutator-wheel. Thus the electric circuitwill comprise the ring or journal D, the brush or metallic plate G, the strip or plate of the commutator or circuitchanging wheel, on which the latter bcars,the carbon-holder B, connected to said strip or plate, the uppermost carbon, and the carboir holder B at the opposite end of said carbon.

The arms F F may be made hollow and provided with a socket, which may be applied to any suitable support. The circuit-wires may then be led through the arms, and may be conducted from the source of electricity to the arms in any suitable manner. The arm 1?,instead of having the wire pass through it, may form a part of the circuit.

A hand-piece, H, connected to the commutator or circuit-changing wheel E E, constitutes means whereby the body of the lamp may be rotated or turned to shift the ends of the carbons and bring them successively into circuit without opening the body; but in lieu of or in addition to this mechanism for turning the body automatically may be employed. An example of such mechanism is shown in Fig. 7. Here I designates a ratchet-wheel having a rigid connection with the commutator or circuit-changing wheel E E, and J designates a pawl pivoted to one end of a lever, K, and engaging with said wheel. The lever K, near one end, carries an armature, L, for an electromagnet, M, which is to be in the lam p-circuit, and at the other end said lever has connected to it a spring, N. When the uppermost car bon is all right and the circuit thereby completed, the electro-magnet draws and holds down its armature, at the same time presenting the pawl J to a new tooth of the ratchet wheel; but when the said carbon becomes burned away or broken the consequent break in the circuit effects the demagnetization of the electro-magnet and release of its armature, and the spring N thereupon draws down the outer end of the lever, thereby causing the pawl J to move the ratchet-wheel one tooth forward. The teeth of the ratchet-wheel are in number intended to correspond with the number of carbons; hence at each movement of the ratchet-wheel a new carbon will be shifted uppermost. The electro-magnet will then draw down its armature and present the pawl J to a new tooth of the ratchet-wheel.

The advantage of employing a number of carbons is, that the usefulness of the lamp will be extended over a time corresponding with the number of carbons for, of course, if one carbon will last a given time, a number of carbons will, when successively used, last several times as long. This is very desirable, as it makes the lamp need less attention and avoids the expense and trouble incident to producing a vacuum in the body A of the lamp each time a carbon becomes useless.

lwill now proceed to describe my regulator. It consists, as here shown, of coils of fine wire of high resistance arranged upon a spool, O, which, preferably, is made of or provided with flanges or heads of hard rubber or other suitable insulating material. This spool is supported by means of a spindle in a shell or barrel, l which, at one end, is connected to the socket from which the arms F F extend. On the outer end of the spindle of the spool O is a hand-piece, Q, whereby it may be turned to partially rotate or turn the spool. The wire may be continuously wound upon the spool, or wound thereon in separate coils, which may be connected. In this example of my invention I have shown disks of insulating material arranged between the coils. Outside the coils of wire are brass or other metal bars, It It R R R R R 1M7, which are connected at short distances apart to the heads of the spool O, and are thereby insulated from each other. Preferably these bars are arranged obliquely to the axis of the spool. Encircling the portion of the coils of wire not covered'by these bars, and connected to the heads of the spool O, is a brass or other metal shell, 6. These bars R t R R R R It R are respectively connected to loops extending from the wire on the spool O, or loops connecting the separate coils of wire wound thereon. Preferably they are connected with the bars spirally around the spool, and not in a circumferential line around the same. One wire of the electric circuit connects to a loose sleeve on a metallic stem extending from the spool O, so that the wire will not be turned when the spool turns. Thence electrical communication is established with the bar It by means of a wire extending to this bar from the said stem. The other wire of the electric circuit leads to a metallic spring, T, which is affixed to the inner side of the shell or barrel P, though insulated therefrom, and bears on the bars R B, &c., when the spool O is rotated. As the spring T makes contact with the bars R R, 820., it may be aptly termed a contact-piece. When the spool O is rotated so that the bar R is brought in contact with the spring T, the electric current does not pass through any of the wire coiled upon the spool, and hence the lamp is at its greatest illuminating-power. When the spoolis rotated so as to bring the bar It in contact with the sprin gT, the electric current has to pass through the first coil of wire on the spool and the illuminating-powerof thelam p is somewhatdiminished and when the spool is rotated to bring any of the succeeding bars, R R R", R R, or R", in contact with the spring, the current is caused to pass through more coils of the wire, and the illuminating-powcr of the lamp is di minish ed in proportion to the additional resistance offered to the passage of the electric current. hen the spool is rotated so as to bring the shell S in contact with the spring, the electric circuit is broken, as said shell, by the heads of the spool, is insulated from the said bars, and the lamp is put out. A pin, U, on a spindle of the spool, operating in conjunction with pins extending fromthe shell or barrel P, limits the rotation of the spool.

By the rotation of the spool the lamp may be gradually turned down or put out with about the same case that an ordinary gasburner could be turned down or put out. Aftcr putting itoutit maybe relighted and turned gradually up by rotatin g the spool to bring the bar t in contact with the spring T,

The diagram, Fi 0, shows the coils removed from the spool O, bars It, R, R R and It detached, and a spring, T, which, in connection with the bars, makes the circuit. This diagram is merely made to conduce to a clear understanding of the regulator. This regulator maybe applied to a single lamp, as shown; or it may be applied to an electric circuit on which are a number of lamps, to regulate them in unison.

The shape of the body A of the lamp and of the carbons may be varied in man y ways; hence I do not confine myself to the particular forms shown.

Although I have shown coils of wire only as the means of resistance in the regulator, 1 do not restrict myself to the use thereof, as many other materials and substances will serve the same purpose.

WVhat I claim as myinvention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in an electric lamp, of a body capable of being rotated or turned, containing within it two or more independent carbons, and means whereby, when said body is rotated or turned, the ends of the carbons are shifted to bring the carbons successively into the electric circuit, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with an electric lamp, of a stationary contact-piece and a number of resistance devices arranged upon a common support, which may be rotated to bring said resistance devices into the circuit of the lamp, to vary or extinguish the light, substantially as specified.

3. The combination, with an electric lamp, of a rotary spool furnished with coils of fine wire, and means, connected with the circuit of the lam p, whereby, on the rotation of the spool by a hand-piece, more or less of its coils may be thrown into the lamp-circuit and the resistance in the circuit varied, substantially as specified.

CHARLES A. HUSSEY.

Witnesses T. J. KEANE, FREDK. HAYNES. 

